Denmark's highest court is set to hear a legal challenge against the country's controversial 'ghetto law,' which aims to eradicate neighborhoods with a high concentration of 'non-Western' immigrants. Seven families from Helsingor, north of Copenhagen, claim their eviction from social housing constitutes discrimination based on their ethnic origin.
The law, enacted in 2018, mandates that social housing estates where more than half of residents are from 'non-Western' countries must undergo renovation and increase the number of market-rate rentals to at least 60% by 2030. The government defines 'non-Western' as a criterion for identifying 'transformation areas,' previously termed 'hard ghettos,' intended to combat segregation and 'parallel societies.'
The plaintiffs had their leases terminated in 2020 by their landlord, Boliggarden, as part of a renovation plan for seven stairwells encompassing 96 apartments. The families assert that the landlord specifically targeted non-Western inhabitants, leading to wrongful termination of their leases.
'It is discriminatory,' stated one plaintiff, Riad, who asked for his family name to be withheld. He added that the landlord sought to forcibly remove residents to avoid the estate being labeled a 'hard ghetto.'
Lower Danish courts have previously ruled in favor of landlords, stating that the law's reference to 'immigrants and descendants of people from non-Western countries' does not single out a single ethnic group and therefore does not violate the Equal Treatment Act. However, the families' lawyer, Eddie Khawaja, argues that the core issue before the Supreme Court is whether the criteria based on tenant origin is neutral.
In December 2025, the Court of Justice of the European Union determined that Danish courts must decide whether the law creates differential treatment based on the ethnic origin of residents, thus disadvantaging them. Approximately 11,000 people across Denmark are expected to be displaced from their homes by 2030 to comply with the law, according to tenant associations.
Protests have occurred regarding the law, with signs reading, "They tried to bury us. They didn't know we were seeds" and "Where should we otherwise stay, Lars?" referring to former Prime Minister Lars Lokke Rasmussen, an architect of the legislation.
If the Supreme Court rules in favor of the displaced families, they would likely be rehoused in comparable accommodations. No verdict date has been set.
